The Journal

John Seymour - A Sweet Chick Life

Posted by Brad Schmidt on May 29, 2014

CADET is pleased to introduce a new monthly feature - HONORS. We have built the CADET brand on being local, quality and with a devotion to our craft. Each month we will highlight different types of craftsman living their passion with an independent spirit.

As the world gets noisier, we want to bring focus on people who inspire us and let you know a little bit about who they are and what they do.

John has been behind bars – the drinking kind - since he was 11. Born and raised in Manhattan, he grew up in his father’s Irish pub. He ran the streets of NYC when all it took was a bad fake ID and Cheshire grin to get you in the door at the hottest clubs. After 7 years as a bartender and bouncer in legendary New York City night spots, in 2002 he moved to the suburbs – Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In 2007, he and his wife Fallon took over a small hole-in-the-wall burger shack and transformed it into a Pop’s, a new kind of Williamsburg institution for those late night cravings. In 2013, thinking that Brooklyn needed a fresh concept that didn't require old-timey lanterns and handle bar mustaches, John and his partners morphed a Chinese tea joint into a Williamsburg 'chicken and waffles' hot spot – Sweet Chick.

A native New Yorker, John is taking his Brooklyn inspiration and bringing it back to his Manhattan roots. He will be opening the second location of Sweet Chick in the former Max Fish space on the Lower East Side in June. This legendary spot lends itself to the legendary life of a guy building his restaurants on his own terms and representing the style of CADET along the way.